Smoke affects fair turnout

Northwest Montana Fair attendance was down about 2.3 percent this year, due largely to heavy smoke from area wildfires and a wind and rain storm that blew through the Flathead County fairgrounds Aug. 21.

“Overall I think it was a very successful fair,” Fair Manager Mark Campbell told the county commissioners earlier this week.

A total of 74,924 people attended the fair.

Filling the grandstand for events, however, was a challenge, he acknowledged. Total grandstand attendance for two nights of concerts, three nights of rodeo performances and the demolition derby was 14,904. That’s down 19 percent from last year.

The concert attendance was particularly low. Sam Riddle performed Tuesday night, drawing 1,198 spectators. The Kristian Bush concert attracted only 1,074 people. By comparison, last year’s Wednesday night concert featuring Chris Young drew a crowd of 3,052.

Commissioner Phil Mitchell said it’s time to review how the concerts are structured.

“We’re losing money on the Tuesday and Wednesday concerts,” Mitchell said. Revenue comparisons provided to the commissioners showed the Wednesday concert sales were about $66,000 less this year.

Campbell said the Fair Board is looking at whether to drop one concert during fair week.

Rodeo attendance was higher than last year when heavy rainfall hampered two nights of the rodeo. A total of 10,109 spectators attended over the three nights, compared to 9,697 total rodeo attendance in 2014.

The Aug. 21 rodeo attendance was adversely affected by a storm that came through the fairgrounds about 5:45 p.m., not long before the rodeo was set to start. That likely kept many people away, Campbell said.

On Saturday when the smoke cleared, the grandstand filled with 4,460 rodeo spectators.

“Saturday was a tremendous day,” he said.

The fair added value to the rodeo performances this year, he pointed out, by contracting to have a drone take video footage that was used for instant replays during the event.

Attendance at the demolition derby was about the same as last year, at 2,442, compared to 2,457 in 2014. But this year the event rebounded with the number of cars featured at the event. There were 19 entrants, compared to just nine last year.

North Star and Paradise Amusements provided close to three dozen carnival rides, but smoke was a factor throughout the week. Carnival sales were down 8 percent, which decreased the county’s take of the carnival revenue by about $6,300.

The number of exhibitors was fairly strong. A total of 7,838 items ranging from canned goods to crafts were entered by 1,027 exhibitors. In recent years the number of exhibits has hovered around 8,000.

Although gate admission was increased to $7 for adults this year, Campbell said he doesn’t believe the price increase affected attendance. Discounted $4 admission tickets were offered through Whitefish Credit Union.

“Less than a handful of people said they couldn’t come” because of the higher admission fee, Campbell said. “There were no negative comments at the gate.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.